Since its launch in mid 2007 I've enjoyed the easy computing of the Asus EeePC 701. Spurned as "sublaptop" by the bulky, expensive laptop owning elite of its day it was the pioneer of a netbook revolution that reshaped the digital marketplace. Small, robust, lightweight and packed with features the Asus EeePC was also one of the cheapest laptops you couldn't buy - I got mine on import some 6 months before the UK release, complete with Chinese keyboard layout and mains adapter.
As a landmark in hardware the Asus EeePC provided WiFi, webcam and microphone and sported a shock-proof SSD all built in - in an age where all of these were expensive optional extras for the traditional laptop crowd. Even its big-icon tabbed UI paved the way for the tablet iOS and Androids that followed, challenging the desktop-and-start-menu status quo with a glimpse of the future.
After years of service, a few OS installs and bricking it every now and then the EeePC is currently close to being laid to rest. When its been good, its been very very good, but when its been bad its been horrid. Having a Netbook was once like holding a little piece of stardust future in your hands, but the world soon caught up and overtook the humble EeePC. While its battery life is alright "a few hours" doesn't feel like so much any more, and occasional wifi glitches prevent it from being the perfect coffee shop companion. The aged cpu and reduced memory are always 'just less' than you want for all but the most basic netbooky tasks. At around £160, I've had if for something like 160 weeks so its one-pound-per-week value for money brings a smile to my thrifty side too.
The new contenders were a new Gaming Laptop from Alienware - a beast of silicon and steel with a price tag to match, or Googles own Chromebook which follows after the EeePC as the next ultra-thin client netbook. Meanwhile Always Innovating were back in the limelight with their smartbook, packed with and experimental feature set and attractive low price tag. Macintosh also have a new tablet out, which is to be considered as a sleek appliance computer.
...However the final judgement came in favour of the new-model Asus EeePC. Packed with features and apps, its a 10" form factor netbook with a trick up its sleeve - the keyboard detaches and can be discarded rendering the device a touch-screen tablet for a best-of-both worlds device. If it delivers as well as its predecessor I can expect at least a four-year lifespan again and have joined the tablet revolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment